Unrequited
by Rookblonkorules
Summary: None of her fantasies had ever involved there being someone waiting for Edward on the other side. Ed and Winry's love as seen from an outside perspective. Post CoS. Brotherhood. AU. Edwin. Implied AlMei. One-sided EdNoah. NO character bashing.


**Note:** Nothing much to say upfront other than the fact that this is an AU. It's definitely _not _canon compliant. Sort of... mashing Brotherhood and Conqueror of Shamballa. More on that in the notes at the end.

* * *

Unrequited: (of a feeling, especially love) not returned or rewarded.

* * *

She's lying on her back in a field of flowers and the sky is blue.

It's these little details that Noah registers the second she opens her eyes.

It's a beautiful first look at her new home.

"Hey." Ed crouches over her, eyes warm, and something in her heart flutters. "Welcome home."

He offers a hand to help her up. She accepts and, at his touch, a thrill runs up her arm.

"Come on," he says, once she's on her own two feet, and she doesn't miss the sudden longing that fills his eyes. "There's somebody I gotta see."

* * *

The house comes into view and, right away, it takes Noah's breath away.

A pleasant, creamy yellow with green trim, it seems homey upon first glance.

A hand-painted sign out front says _Automail_, declaring the owner's chosen profession.

So they're here to see a mechanic for Ed's automail then.

There were automail mechanics in her world, of course, but, after two years away, it makes sense that Ed would want to have his limbs looked at.

It's not what Noah had expected his first visit back home to be.

The way Ed had said it- she'd thought it was somebody _important. _Didn't he have a brother?

Even so, something in it awakens a painful sense of longing in Noah's heart as she trudges slowly up the dirt road.

It's so peaceful, so quiet, with nothing but the wind and the birdsongs to keep you company.

She thinks she could be happy in a place like this.

Edward's pace has picked up considerably since the house first came into view.

A dog's bark announces their presence and a black and white dog runs out onto the porch.

Even from the distance they're at, she can see the automail leg it wears.

A figure runs out onto the porch, drawn by the dog's barking.

Even from this distance, Noah can see that the figure is female.

"Winry!" Ed breaks into a run. Something in his voice is frantic, desperate. _Needy._ And she realizes with a jolt that in all of her dreams, she's never accounted for there to already _be _somebody. "_Winry!"_

A wordless cry from the young woman on the porch and suddenly she's flying down the steps to meet them.

"Ed!" She all but flings herself into Ed's arms. Ed staggers back, his knees buckling under the weight of his own emotions and he collapses, dragging the girl down with him. He wraps his arms around her, holding her to his chest, burying his hands in her hair. "_Ed!"_

Noah approaches tentatively.

There's something so tender, so _intimate_ and yet innocent, in this moment between these two- like they're the only two in the world- like she isn't even there anymore- that she's not even sure she's supposed to be privy to it.

The girl is weeping openly, her face buried against Ed's shoulder. "I thought you were gone for good, Ed. After everything, I couldn't lose you."

"I know. I know. I'm sorry." And there's so much grief, so much _heartache_, in that apology that Noah's heart thumps painfully against her ribcage. "But I'm here. I'm here and I'm never leaving you again, Winry. That's a promise."

He grips her chin gently between thumb and forefinger, tilts her head up, and meets her lips with his in a gentle kiss.

She melts into his hold, eyes sliding closed, arms tightening around his neck.

The kiss is chaste, yet filled with the kind of desperate longing that can only belong to two people forced apart for years.

They break apart after only a brief time together.

"I'm sorry," Ed says, flushing red. "I shouldn't have…"

He breaks off and pulls her close, hands twining through her hair.

Winry laughs tearfully, head resting on his shoulder, but she says nothing.

Something twists uncomfortably in Noah's stomach, jealousy leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. Ed had started as a way to a better place, a world where she could be who she was without fear, but somewhere along the way, she had started hoping that maybe her new life could be with him.

None of her fantasies had ever involved there being someone waiting for Ed on the other side.

She shoves the feeling down before it can grow. She doesn't _want _to feel that way.

Ed is standing then, offering a hand to Winry and helping her up.

Much in the same way he did for her.

He turns to face her and his expression is as welcoming as it had been when they first emerged on this side of the gate.

"Noah," he says, beaming from ear to ear, and Noah wonders how, when she read his mind, she could have missed something like this, "I'd like you to meet Winry."

* * *

"Where's Alphonse?" Ed can't quite keep some of the hoarseness out of his throat when he speaks. He sips some of the herbal tea Winry had made for him, hoping it will help steady his nerves.

Noah isn't down here with them, having accepted Winry's offer to clean up in one of the rooms upstairs.

That leaves just him and Winry. Alone.

She's got a pot of soup cooking and already the smell is wafting in the air. His mouth waters when it reaches his nostrils. He hasn't realized until now just how much he'd missed her home cooking.

It's nice, being back together, just the two of them, and Ed can't deny the soul deep ache that had taken hold of him since they were forced apart, but after two years… he's feeling a little awkward.

After two years, he feels like a different person. He's sure Winry could say the same.

But there's one other thing he can be sure of: what they shared hasn't gone away.

"He went to Xing," Winry tells him. She stirs the soup once, then lays it down on the stove, turning to face him.

Xing.

That makes sense. Al had wanted to go to Xing to learn Alkahestry. And then there was that girl - Mei.

It leaves Ed feeling a little hollow inside- that his brother isn't here to greet him when he returns- but he wants Al to be happy and, well, he's doing what he always wanted to.

And he's been gone for two years. _Two years._

Al had to live his life, he couldn't spend his time waiting, putting everything on hold, when there was no guarantee of Edward ever returning.

"He left with Mei several months after you disappeared," Winry continues explaining. "He wanted to find a way to bring you back. Said it was the least he could do after everything… after everything you'd done to get him his body back."

Ed can't help the little choked noise that escapes his throat and his fingers clench unconsciously around the mug of tea.

After everything…

Worrying about him is the last thing he ever wanted for Alphonse. He'd put his brother through enough hell already.

And then to go and disappear for two years… To go and do that to both of them...

"I'm so sorry, Winry," he whispers.

Winry gives him a tired smile. "I don't think it was your fault, Ed," she says. "You came back. That's what matters most to me. And what will matter most to Al when…" Her eyes grow wide. "Al!" She covers her face with her hands. "I need to write to him! He needs to know…"

"Hey." Ed is at her side, almost immediately, taking her hands gently in his own. He tips her chin back and smiles softly. "I can handle that, okay? He's my brother so… Don't stress out over this, okay?"

"It's not…" Winry laughs a little, wiping at her eyes. "I'm not stressing."

"Yes," Ed says seriously, "you are."

She laughs again, voice tinged with the slightest bit of hysteria, clutching at his shirt. "Please don't go. Please don't go again."

"Shhhh." He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him.

She doesn't resist, shoulders shaking.

He threads the fingers of his flesh hand through her hair. "I told you, Winry. I'm not leaving you again."

Gently, he presses a kiss against her forehead.

"That's a promise I'm going to keep."

* * *

**Note:** So this is kind of a little vent fic. I'm only halfway through Brotherhood- episode 32 to be exact, so literally halfway through- and Conqueror of Shamballa is the movie I've tried several times to make it through and I can't. I just can't. Not that it's a _bad _movie. That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm sure once I actually get up the nerve to finish it, I'll love it, but... I couldn't bear half the things that were happening. I ended up watching the ending and... leaving Winry all alone? No. Nope. Not happening.

I told my friend I was going to write this as a way to deal with all the feels and wait till I finished both Brotherhood _and _CoS, because... that's kind of important, honestly, but then I was kind of like, "To hell with it. This is already an AU and I already know the gist of what happens. If this ends up being _impossibly _AU, I can always rewrite it." Because I'm one of those people who doesn't stress too much about spoilers and, by the time I've finished a show, the ending is hardly a surprise to me.

Plus, my ship seen through the eyes of someone else is a guilty pleasure of mine, so... opportunities! Yay!

The character of Noah- or Noa, I don't know, people spell it both ways- Ehhhhh, I don't know. She was incredibly selfish- I would have given her a small sympathy pass because of the prejudice she faced but that doesn't excuse her actions in all honesty. Plus, we already had a character who dealt with racism. Miles in Brotherhood. He took it in stride, looked at the broader picture and was trying, step by step, ripple by ripple, to make things better for his people. And then there was... Noah.

Self-serving, I want a better world for _me _Noah. Willing to betray Ed and the people of Amestris and her _own_ people, because _she _wanted a better world for _herself._ And she changes her mind because... she realizes that a lot of people will probably die? Nope. Because Ed tells her his world isn't as perfect as she thinks it is.

(Honestly, I kind of wished she had been a bit more like Esmerelda from Disney's _Hunchback of Notre_ Dame- a woman who _stood up _for her people- but Noah was just... kind of pathetic.)

And then there's Winry, toting his automail around because she trusts he's going to come back- _that _was devotion and love.

I'm sorry but I am _100% _against any Ed/Noah.

Anyways, this was born because I liked the idea of Noah coming back to Ed's world, where she can pick up a new life. And, of course, Ed needs to come back to Winry. I'd like to imagine that Ed and Winry help the Noah of this fic set up her life in Amestris, possibly Resembool even. *shrugs*

Also, as far as Noah not knowing about Winry goes, I don't particularly recall much about her "gift," but I _hate _the idea of someone knowing _everything _about someone else with a simple touch, so, yeah, there will absolutely be a few things that Noah _doesn't _know about Ed in my fics.

So, needless to say, this likely disregards canon on several accounts, hence the AU tag. But then this is fanfiction and stranger things have happened. De-aging... Adorable, but still... kind of weird. (Not judging, don't worry. I've written one myself.) Mpreg, because um... what? How does that even work? So I'm sure finagling CoS to fit in with Brotherhood works... somehow.

**Edit 7/28 **I watched the movie in full- mostly- and there are some things that this fic doesn't take into account, such as the situation with Ed's automail. I'm still a little confused, because for the most part, that movie had me going "WTF?" too often. But I hope you can forgive any inconsistencies.


End file.
